Represent! is your eye on how well government serves citizens and the public interest in Southern California. KPCC's politics and government team posts frequently on transparency, civic engagement, reform efforts and accountability. We invite your comments and suggestions — follow us on Twitter at the links below.

The president of the city of Los Angeles's Board of Public Works, Andrea Alarcón, is entering professional treatment after her 11-year-old daughter Cheyenne turned up alone late last Friday night at Los Angeles City Hall.

Two hours later, Alarcón, 33, left a City Hall party and arrived at police headquarters, where officers had taken the girl. Police did not arrest the mother.

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa released a statement from Alarcón Thursday:

"My daughter is my top priority and nothing could be more important to me than her well-being. In order for me to be the best parent possible, I have decided to seek professional help and treatment. I ask that the media respect my family's privacy during this difficult time."

The professional help and treatment Alarcón says she is seeking was not specified.

Los Angeles voters long ago installed contribution and spending limits in city elections. But those spending limits can be wiped out when a big-spending political action committee announces it's getting into the campaign.

Republican political strategist Fred Davis announced this week that he's formed a committee, Better Way LA, to raise $4 million to spend on behalf of mayoral candidate Kevin James.

Indpendent spending like Davis' is legal and unlimited, and it can affect what other candidates may spend in the mayor's race. Here's how that works:

So far, James and three better-funded candidates — council members Eric Garcetti and Jan Perry, and City Controller Wendy Greuel — have agreed to abide by spending limits in the primary. In exchange, they can get up to $667,000 in city matching funds.

But as soon as independent groups — alone or combined — spend $309,000 for or against a single candidate, the city lifts the spending limits on all candidates in the mayor's race. And they can keep the matching funds.

This sort of indie spendingisn't new in LA elections. It totals about $16 million since 2001, according to records of the City Ethics Commission. In the last open race for mayor in 2005, independent committees spent nearly $3.7 million. Those dollars came mostly from unions, but also from business, environmental and partisan political groups.

Meanwhile, the city limits on direct contributions to candidates remain capped at $1,300 per donor.

Anybody who wants to spend more will have to create their own independent expenditure committee, or give to one like Fred Davis' Better Way LA.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a statement Wednesday expressing reservations about a pension reform plan from one of his predecessors, former Mayor Richard Riordan.

"I have concerns that Mayor Riordan's pension plan may cost more money than the current system and hinder our efforts to recruit the best for our police department."

Under Riordan's plan, new city workers would be placed in private 401(k)-style pension plans. Villaraigosa worries aspiring police officers would be less interested in working at the L.A.P.D. and instead go to cities that continue to offer defined pension packages.

Riordan's plan - staunchly oppposed by city labor unions - would also require current city workers to contribute more of their salaries to the pension fund, and would freeze city contributions during bad economic times. The former Republican mayor argues the city faces bankruptcy if voters fail to approve his plan. He hopes to collect enough signatures by Dec. 7 to place it on the May ballot.

A special election for the Los Angeles City Council's next Sixth District rep will be held on May 21, 2013 at a cost of $400,000.
Alice Walton/KPCC

Alice Walton|November 21, 2012

A special election to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Los Angeles City Council is set for May 21, 2013.

The L.A. City Council voted 12-0 to hold an election that day to fill the vacancy that will be left when Councilman Tony Cardenas is sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 3. A runoff election is scheduled for July 23.

It will cost $400,000 to hold the special election. It could have cost more than a $1 million if the primary were not held the same day as the city’s municipal election runoff.

The city council could have voted to appoint a new council member to serve the remainder of Cardenas’ term, through June 30, 2015. However, the L.A. City Council has not chosen that option since the 1960s when John Ferraro was appointed to the council. With this election, it means there will be seven new members of the Los Angeles City Council next year.

The Los Angeles Fire Department is looking at plans to send firefighters and paramedics to emergencies before fulling understanding the nature of 911 calls. Doing so could speed up response times by 50 seconds.
Jondoeforty1/Flickr

Alice Walton|November 21, 2012

Good morning, readers. Welcome to the Maven's Morning Coffee -- a listing of the important headlines, news conferences, public meetings and announcements you need to know to fuel up and tackle your day.

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 21, and here is what's happening in Los Angeles:

Headlines

The Los Angeles Fire Department is looking at a strategy for speeding up response times -- sending firefighters and paramedics to emergencies before fully determining the nature of a 911 call, according to the Los Angeles Times. The "quick launch" program, which reduced response times by 50 seconds, was discontinued in 2006 because it required too many resources.

A member of SEIU Local 721 was disciplined Tuesday for encouraging members to sign fake names and addresses to former Mayor Richard Riordan's petition to dramatically change the city's retirement system, reports the Daily News. "SEIU Local 721 in no way recommends that its members or anyone else falsify signatures. We are against that kind of behavior," a spokesman told the newspaper.